Alex Finger
Squad
International Record
2022 World Rowing Under 23 Championships
2023 World Rowing Under 23 Championships
About Alex Finger
Where did you learn to row and who was your first coach?
Berliner Ruder-Club, Germany. The first coach that I worked with intensively was former lightweight rower and sports-journalist Jonas Schützeberg.
What inspires you about sport?
For me rowing was and always will be an exercise in living. You encounter through the sport so many challenges that, while overcoming them, teach you a lot about yourself and your sorrounding. A utter defeat can be the best critical self reflexion you can have and an unexpected win can be like a blessing from heaven. Everything in between, from getting to know people to grueling sessions on the erg, sharpens your character by learning tremendous gifts like compassion, resilience or determination.
Explain your earliest memory of The Boat Race
My parents (also both rowers) brought home pizza, turned on the TV and we watched The Boat Race together via the livestream. After that it became my tradition to watch the races.
Do you relish in hours in the gym and miles in the dark, or do you live for race days?
I really like the gym, where you can - in my opinion - feel your growth and improvement over the weeks the best. The feeling of lifting 80kgs with sweat on your head one day and then a few weeks later letting 100kgs fly is just exceptional. But it's the same with rowing, once you get into this rhythm on a 20k session and the boat just starts to move by itself gives me goosepumps. And then in the end the race is where all comes together, you have to be your very best. If everything goes to plan and you win, it is one of the best feelings in the world.
What's the secret to managing elite-level sport with studying at one of the top universities in the world?
It sounds a bit simple, but you have to want it. You cannot do it and you will not be succesful if you are only in it with one foot. You have to be there with 100% and living for the dream. If you have this overarching motivating driver then you have the energy for everything that comes your way.
